


Nemesis

by Kithas



Category: Original Work
Genre: Conversation, Desert elf, Elemental Magic, Elf, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Gen, Human, Magic, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-15 21:55:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11240031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kithas/pseuds/Kithas
Summary: Elves and orcs, humans and trolls. In war's gunfire, everyone can get burned. But there are people who might prevail. People who face hell and learn how to bend hellfire. And, what's left for them in this world, when hell's over? What, but themselves?





	Nemesis

The elf stepped back, keeping an eye on her surroundings. The orc squad closed in, with five menacing warriors, bigger than her, with green solid skin and fangs that made them look more like the beasts she believed them to be. Their armors, dark-colored and full of spikes, made their appearance almost as threatening as the guns they were pointing at her.

Since, a few times ago, imperial elves went on their heroic rampage of cleaning the lands of monsters and darkness, things did go from bad to worse. First, they went after unequivocally bad people, but soon self-appointed heroes started to aim their efforts towards orcs or trolls, claiming to be “purifying” them. And, when humanity did oppose them, a war started, between pure and blasphemous, between light and darkness. But soon concepts like “light”, “heroic” and “good” got trampled by mighty armors, and bloodstained by both elvish and troll blood. That’s how it came to be. In every war, most victims are civilians. The girl, a simple dancer from the Desert Elf people, dark skin and light-colored clothes, stepped back, hitting a tree. The soldiers approached, armed to the tooth. “Don’ be afraid, sweetheart”, one of them smiled. “We’re going to purify you”. Only gods did know their intentions, but they picked the wrong target for them. From inside the group of orcs a bright light shined, followed by an explosion, throwing them away. The smoke soon turned into a whirlwind, and from the dust inside, the elf came out, shining, with her hair the color of the fire, surrounded by flames.

“You’re way late for that, honey!” She laughed, rising in the air. Bright, her skin shining and her eyes burning with a magic they hadn’t anticipated. But even with that igneous magic they were facing, the orcs did not hesitate. Their species is known as one of fierce warriors, used to confront heroes way stronger than them, and they reacted quickly, emptying their magazines into the dark-skinned elf. Without breaking a sweat, the fire lady spun around, as if she were a dancer – what she was – and disappeared, in a whirlwind of magic and fire. The shooting stopped, and the soldiers received a hot-air gust.

“Is it me, or is it hot in here, baby?” Said the elf’s voice, and the temperature raised ostensibly, with the air vibrating. Overheating, the heavily armed orcs tried to take out the hottest parts of their armors, bumbling and searching for the fire lady. And one of them looked up. “There she is!” He announced, and the rest of the squad looked up, finding that there was a distorted silhouette in front of the Sun. “Hasn’t you told you, guys?” she said. “It’s dangerous to look directly at the sun! You could get burnt!”. And, effectively, that’s what did happen: fireballs descended from the flying fire elf dancer, scorching the confused soldiers while she flied around them, creating a burning field that incinerated the poor soldiers who tried to get revenge in a non-armed civilian. After a full lap around them, the elf dancer propelled herself upwards using her fire magic, and, with a finishing fire projectile, smashed the orcs into the ground, burning them to a crisp, ending with the unfortunate souls.

“Magic sunscreen, factor eight million!” she screamed, triumphal, descending to the center of the burned area and turning around, as if showing herself. Extending her arms, merrily, to an invisible audience. Immediately thereafter, the fake tree disappeared, and the deserted landscape transformed back into the stadium it actually was, with rows and rows full of cheering people. Golden magic clouds shined from the audience, showing people’s admiration, as the elf fire dancer vibrated with their acclamation.

“That was the first time the Great War got into my way!”, she narrated, knowing that the voice spell allowed everyone to hear her clearly. “Trying to control my power, I had stepped back and tried not to fight, but when I saw what did this war to our people, I knew I wouldn’t want to be a weapon again, and vowed to end the fight!” She waved to the cheering multitude. “Thank you for listening to this chapter of my story, friends! And also thanks to my dear orc friends, who willingly offered themselves to help into my narration!” Backing up, she put her arms around the orc actor, completely unharmed once the Fiction Spell had disappeared. Spectacle world, battleground world, both were massive worlds there. Huge crowds willing to listen to her story and her recounting of the great war. Crowds waiting for her outside the stadium, waiting to get an autograph, or even a burn from her. People with shirts with her face and her name.

 _Shooting Star_. The fire desert elf entered in the enchanted limousine and closed off the door, which decreased notoriously the volume and the light. “I’m going home” she said to the magic car, relaxing with all those people around her. Star went across her orange bright hair with her hand, increasing the fire magic it was infused in and making it brighten a bit. The shadows inside the limo lightened… and showed, across the luxurious seat, a man, covered with a poncho and with a wide-brimmed hat.

“Well, that’s that”, he said, with a cigar in his bony wrinkled hand. A hand full capable of using any sort of weapon, as for example the revolver she knew he had hidden under the poncho. “Are you going to tell them about the time you scorched all my team, only because they did open the doors to your temple?” Under the hat, an eye watched her closely, reflecting her shining hair. Slowly, he took his cigar and brought it to it, lightning it up in the process.

“I…” Star swallowed. Lt. Van Helsing was one of the few people who could catch her in a lie. “That wasn’t a temple, it was a cage. And you know full well how the publishing house is the one who…” With the cigar in his mouth, he glared at her the same way she knew he glared at his victims. The true Death Glare, the fastest sniper in the whole Kingdom. But, in the end, he only puffed a cloud of smoke out of his mouth and nostrils. “Stop saying nonsense, Star”, he said, with the façade already gone. “They shot, you shot, I don’t care who did it first. I never blamed you. It was a war. And both of us survived. We can have that”. She smiled, happy to have the Lieutenant as one of her oldest friends. After that disastrous bad spot, nearly fifty years before, they understood that being in opposite factions did not make them, in fact, enemies, and, after the war, they ended being drinking buddies. “Life’s going pretty good, huh?” he puffed, again. Thanks to her elf nature, her lifespan was way superior than his, so while looking still young and pretty, Star was oldest than his seventies… while still being young for an elf.

“I could be better, believe it or not”, she sighted, however. “I concede it’s funny to make up a glorious life to entertain people, but I’m not here to tell tales. I came here to fight”. She made herself comfortable, laying down in the big limo seat. “I came to the Kingdom because your people promised me joy, no strings attached, my friend. No heresy against the ancient elf gods, no stupid laws or ethics to worry about”, she looked at him. “Within the limits on the Arena, I could do anything I wanted”.

“What are you complaining about?” replied the old man, with his cigar the only light in the vehicle except her hair and eyes. “You came here just after a big war against the Elf Imperium, and you, an elf, did become one of their greatest fighters”.

“You’re right”, she smiled, having to concede again, stretching out with her arm, creating a tiny flame in her hand, as if she were about to shoot. “Shooting Star”. Her alias. Her name. But it wasn’t the matter. It wasn’t only that. She went there to fight. And she did fight. She fought, she won, and then she realized she had run out of opponents. “Now my days are wasted into complying with my manager’s ways to earn more money, and turning down director Lanceproud’s offers of being a part of her Special Forces Unit”. She lied down on the seat, with a jingle of the coins on the fringe of her dress. “There’s no strong warriors left who want to fight me”, she moaned. “and, for some time now, not even Bunker, who could at least stand my fire, answers my calls”. That’s the dilemma of people such as Shooting Star. Staying at the tops mean there’s nobody around at your level. Even Bunker, the southerner barbarian who fought in that colossal armor, seemed to avoid her now. “I wonder if the indecent proposals I’ve made have something to say in the matter”, she said, smiling. It was very fun to watch how the big guy blushed after her proposals, saying that the public opinion wouldn’t have a good impression about their relationship.

“I don’t know where could opponents for you be”, said the Lieutenant. “But I know why you can’t find Bunker: He’s with a girl”. That made Shooting Star stand up, with a jingle of her clothes, but there wasn’t anger or jealousy in her, but joy.

“A girlfriend? HA! The Big guy with an actual girlfriend?” her laugh filled the car, lighting her figure, while the old man puffed another smoke cloud between them. “I think he’s training her or something like that”, he shrugged. “The new acquisition of director Lanceproud, once you decided to turn down her offers”.

“So that’s why she left me alone at last”, thought Star aloud. “That girl not only took away my Love Interest™, she also took my job!” She felt like laughing. If both Bunker and director Lanceproud had taken an interest on the new girl, she was interested already. “Tell me, how is she? Is she cute?”

“She is…” For a moment, a smile seemed to happen under the old man’s grey mustache. But that was impossible: The lieutenant never smiled. He was only smoking again his cigar, almost finished. “She’s a killing machine. Like you”.

Wonderful, Star thought. A killing machine. One of those people, like Bunker and Star herself, who did see hell in their own battles, and after being toughened up in there, realized hell was kind of their thing. “You are made for each other, believe me”. Concluded the Lieutenant, and by then, she was already burning with emotion. “I can’t wait”, Star said. “I’m looking forward to meeting the girl who took away my Bunker”, she joked, with her lips curved into a smile. Lt Van Helsing nodded, serious but with a defiant look in his eyes. “You’ll meet her. Rest assured, you’ll meet her not long from now”.

 

* * *

 

And there was Star, not a full week after that. In the middle of the Stadium, in the Arena, once a gain in a situation she thought she wouldn’t be ever again. Being challenged by a newcomer.

In front of her, at the other side of the Arena, a woman staid, in a maroon tight-fitting suit, with a pair of golden gloves. Fair skin and light blond hair, so light it seemed platinum, contrasting with redhead and darker-skinned Star. And there were that pair of bright red eyes, glaring at the elf like it was a cat looking at a mouse. But Star was not a mouse. She’d never been a mouse. She was a dragon, a phoenix. That’s why she knew she was going to have fun.

“So, you are Bunker’s late girlfriend, huh?”, she smiled. “You know, a piece of advice from your senior: He long hair”. She could feel it, as clearly as the audience. That invisible aura, that attitude. The new girl wasn’t bluffing. “Ikana Diamond”. Star liked the sound of that name. “I’ve heard about you”.

“Me too”. Diamond’s voice couldn't be colder. It was icy. But she didn’t take her eyes out of Star, making her aware of her bloodthirsty inner side. The Lieutenant was right. They were alike. “I’ve been ordered to test my limits, and, according to Bunker, you’re the strongest around here”.

“He keeps saying that, while turning down each and every of my propositions”, she acted up. Maybe Bunker didn’t like how their relationship would be seen by the audience, but Star didn’t hide her attempts. That was her way, her public act. A fiery flaming redhead like her was more marketable that way. “Say, Ikana Diamond… If I win, will you go on giving me the runaround, or will you accept an invitation to my place?” The public could go crazy with those words, and so would the share in the media. Star laughed on her inside. Her manager would be delighted.

But, while she was actually interested ( _a Killing Machine_ , as the Lieutenant said, who was also a red-eyed beauty), none of that mattered. Not even Bunker did. That were about them, about the sacred link shared by those who were about to battle. And both Shooting Star and Diamond were clearly aware of that. “I don’t know what will I do if I lose”, she said, calm, with her own icy aura intensifying. “Because it won’t happen”.

The soundtrack Star did choose started blasting through all the stadium, and she suddenly ignited, in all her glory, letting her flames form a massive phoenix figure around her. But Ikana Diamond, the one who would be known as _the Snedronningen_ , the Ice Queen, didn’t bat an eye, but drew her sword and unleashed her own magic, blasting Star with the coldest blizzard she had ever know. Most delighted than she had been in the last months, Star smiled, gleefully, looking at how the Ice started to surround Diamond. The Lieutenaunt was right. At last, she had found her nemesis.


End file.
